US forces in Iraq kept detainees with only bread and water for up to 17 days in 2004, a newly-released report says. The Special Operations troops stripped inmates naked and drenched them with water before interrogation in overly air-conditioned rooms, it said. The report, by Brig Gen Richard Formica, says troops were not to blame - they had received the wrong advice. It is the latest in a series of inquiries into the alleged abuse or killing of Iraqis by coalition forces. Several US soldiers have been jailed for their role in abusing inmates at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. Images of the abuse caused an international outcry - but most defendants say they were following orders. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

Going into Thursday's Iraq debate in Congress, both sides had news points to bolster their arguments — for war supporters, it was recent the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the completion of the Iraqi cabinet; for war critics, the fact that U.S. deaths in Iraq today hit 2,500.Both also went into the debate armed with political talking points. The most unusual came via a document sent out by Office of the Secretary of Defense to an assortment of congressional aides, as well as to the Iraqi Embassy and the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. The 74-page document is an exhaustive rebuttal of criticisms of the war and a defense of the administration's conduct of the war. ...http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2082838

The world's richest countries vowed Friday to cooperate more closely on fighting terrorism with a particular focus on terrorist recruitment, cybercrime and the flow of dangerous people and cargo across borders.The commitment came at the end of a two-day meeting of Group of Eight law enforcement and justice officials held in Moscow as part of Russia's G8 presidency."People from every country at this table have suffered from terrorism," British attorney general Lord Goldsmith said at the end of the meeting. "There is a clear commitment from all G8 countries to work together to fight terrorism."Goldsmith and Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said the officials had discussed practical measures to deal with radicalization and terrorist recruitment, computer crime — including the use of computers and the Internet to promote terrorism — and ways to improve mutual legal assistance ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-17-russia-G8_x.htm?csp=34

A majority of Americans -- 53 percent -- favors setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, with 47 percent saying the deadline should be in a year or less, according to a CNN poll released Friday.Among those who favor setting a deadline of a year or less, opinions also are divergent.The survey found 13 percent of Americans want withdrawal within a few weeks; 15 percent want it in six months; and 19 percent want it in a year.The poll also showed Americans' approval of the way President Bush is handling the Iraq war was up 5 points from May's poll to 39 percent. His disapproval rating fell 8 points, to 54 percent....http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/16/iraq.poll/

U.S. special operations troops kept some Iraqi detainees chained in a room with a diet of bread and water for as long as 17 days, according to a U.S. military report made public on Friday under a court order. The report by Army Brig. Gen. Richard Formica, dated November 8, 2004, but withheld by the Pentagon until now, examined in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal the treatment of detainees in Iraq by U.S. special operations troops. The heavily redacted report was turned over by the U.S. government to the American Civil Liberties Union under court order as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. It also described detainees being kept in very small cells, including one who was naked "because he continually urinated on himself and his clothes," and exposed to loud music to prevent them from communicating and sleeping. "The government's own documents demonstrate that the abuse of detainees in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan was widespread and systemic...http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060617/ts_nm/iraq_usa_abuse_dc

Portland's mayor demoted the city police chief to captain on Friday following an investigation into a scandal that included sexually explicit e-mails and allegations of abuse of power. Mayor Tom Potter said the investigation found that most allegations of misconduct by Derrick Foxworth were unsubstantiated. But he said that Foxworth had used poor judgment in sharing department information with Angela Oswalt, a desk clerk with whom Foxworth acknowledged having a "brief but intense" affair while they worked together, but before he was promoted to chief in 2003. "Men and women of the Portland Police Bureau and members of the public look to their chief to set the tone for acceptable conduct," said Potter, a former Portland police chief. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2087338